Hey peeps,
So I just saw The Dark Knight Rises, could have gone to the midnight screenings but I'm a working man and didn't feel like being tired for work.
So I waited...and just to say it now: I don't regret that I waited.
Now to business.
Is the film good? Yes, it's excellent. Once again Nolan has demonstrated his ability to create a fantastic film. It was shot wonderfully, acted greatly and the script was really solid. But this is not a faultless film.
There are moments where there are evident mistakes but somehow they've survived the scrutiny of Nolan and Co. I don't want to go into to much detail because I know some people can't resist reading these reviews early even with the warnings. One vague example is that Bane hits someone and it is the most obvious miss in the world (well at least I thought so). And my biggest complaint about these little errors is that, being a massive fan of cinema, I look very intently at what I'm watching and when this occurs it takes me out of the film.
In terms of the length of the film I agree with some other reviews that I've seen. The film is paced badly and Nolan needed to trim the fat. When you see a cut of a film like this it makes the film look self indulgent on Nolans behalf. As we all know Whedon's initial cut of The Avengers was over an hour longer but for the good of the film he cut it down. Nolan didn't do this, but I do love his work so I enjoyed it but I don't think he has earn't enough respect to be able to release such a cut of a film. You might all argue that his films are some of the best pieces of cinema ever. But if you're making a film for an audience you need to deliver the best film possible even if it means cutting scenes you like. Kevin Smith is a good example of a director who cuts the hell out of his movies and he makes low budget and independent films. Nolan is/was the head of a franchise and he needed to make the movie more about his audience and less about himself. When he's at the end of his career and wants to make a film of his own creation and wants it to represent his artistic values then by all means go for it. Even Sergio Leone waited 'til the end of his career for his personal film.
But my issues with the film aren't really that big I'm just going into detail. I like long films I'm known for seeking out and buying directors cuts on DVD and Blu-Ray. But it's a lot of talking and not as much action as I thought, but it's Nolan so all the action is awesome so I was very happy with that.
Now this next part is a pretty big SPOILER so if you've ignored my warnings and have kept reading please stop now.
At the end of the film it is revealed that Joseph Gordon-Levitts characters christian name is 'Robin' a nod to the fact that he will be taking over Batmans mantle and a reference to an earlier part in the film where Batman says he should wear a mask.
But my God did this piss me off. My girlfriend didn't understand my frustration. Robin is Dick Grayson. Plain and simple. This line was put in for mainstream audiences and this has caused me lose a lot of respect in Nolan. It's a cheap move to make an audience go 'ohhhhhh' but it's a slap in the face to fans. Marvel put an unknown character (to mainstream audiences) at the end of their film and didn't even say his name. And Mr. Integrity Nolan who's all about story and had followed the source material relatively well for a re-imagining should have respected the audience enough to call him Dick Grayson. If a fan didn't know he would have looked it up but I think the majority of people would have made the connection or would know someone who did know.
But I don't want to vent too much on this, I've waited three hours before writing this review to calm down a bit over some of the things that have tarnished an otherwise masterpiece of a film. It's like having a hair in an awesome bowl of soup. It's annoying to say the least.
Good film but I'm actually surprised that it's reviews have been as positive as they are and I would expect a lower Rotten Tomatoes score by the time the films finished it's run (if it can change, I'm not sure how that site works).
So yeah I'm ending my review and giving the film a 7 1/2 out of 10.
I might receive some death threats over this but guys and gals just to let you know I prefer rape threats...I could use some action ;)
Don't hate on me til you've actually seen the film. And if you wanna do horrible things to me after you've seen the film then do it. I understand, you're just raging because you were let down because of unrealistic expectations.
Cheers,
Benjamin Boekelaar
Just to reiterate my point if it didn't come across:
This is my opinion in the film and it is on the whole a positive view point. All the bad things I point out are the only bad things with the film and there's on a few examples. The film just isn't perfect but that's fine because it's a wonderful conclusion to one of the best film trilogies of all time.